Every Second
by puuurpleprincess95
Summary: When Michelle's test results reveal something in addition to her not being infected, 24 is changed forever.  This is how each day would've been different if Michelle had also been pregnant.
1. Day 3

This is how each Day would've been different if Michelle's test results had revealed something else in addition to her not being infected. The dialogue is nearly exactly the same for the first little bit cause it wouldn't change things that much.

I don't own anything.

….

Michelle opened her test results and her eyes quickly scanned the paper finding a word of relief and a word of surprise.

"Almeida." He answered.

"Honey, it's me."

"What's goin' on?" He asked worriedly.

"I'm okay. I'm not infected."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, they did a swab and a blood test and I'm gonna be fine. I'm gonna be fine."

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Sweetheart, that's fantastic. Look I want you to get out of there right now. Away from anybody who's infected." He said as relief spread across his face.

"No, no. No, sweetheart, they said that those of us that didn't come down with the infection we have an immunity to the virus."

"Well, where are they taking ya?"

"Downtown. To NHS. They wanna keep us under watch for eighteen hours. But they said it's just a formality." She said holding back the other news.

"Sweetheart, are you sure you're okay? I feel like you aren't telling me something."

"Well… Tony… There was something else in the results."

"What else? What are you talking about?" He asked worriedly.

"I… I'm pregnant." She said slowly placing a hand over her stomach.

"You're what? Like with a baby?" He asked in astonishment.

"Yeah, sweetheart. That's usually how it works." She

"Oh my God. That's… Oh my God. That's amazing." He said speechless.

"Really?" She asked. They had talked about having kids, but not for a few years.

"Yeah, of course it is. I'll get down to NHS as soon as I can."

"No, honey. Stay where you are. They need you at CTU and I can work from downtown."

"Michelle, you don't have to work. We can handle it."

"I wanna help Tony. I wanna stop the people who nearly took me and this baby away from you." She said her voice breaking.

"Okay. Michelle."

"Yeah?"

"I can't believe I almost lost you." He said his voice shaking.

"I almost lost you, too. But we're still here." She said holding back the tears that had begun to form. "I… I have to go. I'll call you from NHS."

"Michelle, I love you."

"I love you so much."

"Wow, a baby…" He said softly before hanging up.

Michelle looked at the agent behind her. He was infected. He was going to die. She wasn't. She was going to have a baby with the love of her life. She and Tony had survived the day.

…..

"Almeida." Tony answered. Despite the drama of the day he was in a relatively good mood. He had just found out that not only was Michelle not infected, but she was pregnant.

"Listen to me very carefully, Agent Almeida." A man with a British accent said.

"Who is this?"

"It's Stephen Saunders. Before you make any tactical errors, I'd like to give you an update on the situation."

"I'm listening." He said still not quite connecting the dots.

"I need you to move to a private area that has direct comm with your teams on site here."

"And why would I do that?"

"Open a web socket to IP 257211165 and you'll find out." That's IP 257211165. Just trust me. Do it."

He went to open it as Saunders spoke again, "By the way Tony, I'd like to offer congratulations on your wife eluding infection from the virus. And let's not forget your baby."

"How do you know about my wife? Or the baby?"

"Get on that site."

Tony quickly typed it in.

What he saw terrified him. Michelle, throat gagged, with a man holding her tightly.

"I don't know exactly what they're doing to her Tony, but I did instruct them to leave her barely functional so we can return her to you. However, I didn't say the same about your child."

"I'll kill you, you son of a bitch. I'll rip your damn throat out. You hear me?" He said angrily.

"I'm low on time, so I'm sorry if I brush past that remark because in 15 seconds Michelle will be dead if you don't do what I say. There are five agents watching the northeast exit of this building. Four on the ground, a sniper on the rooftop next door. I'm assuming they're operating as a single unit. I want you to give them a Code 9, send them to the front entrance now."

"Jack Bauer's running the operation. I don't have the authority to do that."

"No authority? Really? I bet your wife and child would say otherwise." He said with a smirk before continuing.

"Kevin, is Michelle still conscious?" Tony heard a yes.

"Take an eye out." Saunders said.

Tony watched in disbelief with his mouth wide open as Michelle stared terrified at the gleaming knife.

"No! Wait, Stop!" He yelled. Somehow Saunders had discovered his only weakness. Michelle.

"Kevin, hold for a second." Saunders said.

Toy looked at the screen, weighing his options.

"It's gonna take me some time." He said making his decision.

"You have 30 seconds."

Tony hung up the phone. He thought for a second about Michelle and the baby. He then picked up the phone as he made the choice to protect the two people that meant everything to him.

"This is Baker." Baker answered.

"This is Tony Almeida. Switch to channel three." Tony said.

He heard several beeps and then Baker replied, "Go ahead."

"We need you to Code 9 your team. I want you to use a controlled channel in case Saunders is listening."

"What are we doing?"

"Move everyone to the front now."

"I've been monitoring all channels. There's nothing going on the front."

"We just got a new sat feed that Jack doesn't have yet. Looks like Saunders is on the move in a blind spot. Get there now!"

"Roger that. Four CTU personnel diverting to new mark."

"No, Baker. Negative. Not just CTU personnel, everyone. Police control included. Get there now!"

He heard Baker's team leave. Normally he would've seriously doubted his actions, but this was Michelle and their child for God's sake. He would do whatever it took.

…

Tony's phone began to ring.

"Almeida." He answered.

"You're going to bring me my daughter and you'll get your wife back." Stephen Saunders said.

"Let me talk to her." He said.

Saunders considered it a minute, then said "Fine."

Seconds later he heard Michelle's voice. "Tony." She said softly.

"Sweetheart, are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm being treated well." She said. He could tell that she had been told to say this. "Tony, please don't let them do this!" She said quickly before the phone was snatched away.

"You can speak to her more after I get Jane." He said. "I'll call you at a pay phone in twenty minutes with further instructions." He told Tony the address and then hung up.

…..

Tony watched as Chloe was able to unscramble the voice track. Damn it! He should have used a less competent analyst. He quickly isolated the room and went to leave with Jane Saunders.

He was kidnapping their leverage over Saunders. He knew that the minute Saunders had Jane, there would be no way they could stop him, but all he cared about was making sure Michelle was safe. The face that she was pregnant made him even surer of what he was doing. He didn't care about the consequences. Nothing else would matter if he had the chance to save her and she died because he blew it. She had to be okay. He would die the second her heart stopped beating.

….

Tony watched as Jack slammed into the car.

"Tony, put the gun on the dash!" Jack yelled getting out of the car.

Tony thought for a second, but decided that if he listened to Jack, he might help him get Michelle back.

"Saunders has Michelle!" He yelled as he got out of the car.

"I know." Jack said coming towards him. "What the hell were you thinking? Jane is the ONLY leverage we have against Saunders." He said angrily.

"He's setting up a trade. Jane for Michelle. If I don't produce Jane, he'll kill Michelle. I'll take whatever punishment later. Just help me get my wife back." Tony pleaded looking at friend.

"This trade might be our way of catching Saunders." Jack said contemplating. "What are your instructions?"

"I'm supposed to go to a pay phone and wait for his call."

"Get in the car. We're going."

"What? No, Jack. If you go, he'll kill Michelle."

"He won't be watching the pay phone." Jack said.

…

About ten minutes later they we waiting at the pay phone, Jack had just attached a listening device.

"You have to reject the first location so that Chase has time to get teams to a secondary location." Jack said as the phone began to ring.

Saunders told him a location and when he rejected it Saunders insisted that it was good. Jack hung up the phone.

"What the hell are you doing? You just killed my wife! You son of a bitch." Tony said angrily punching Jack.

"He'll call back. If we can't get him to accept a secondary location, Michelle is as good as dead."

"Damn it, Jack! What if he doesn't?" Tony yelled starting to walk towards his car to drive to the original spot.

"Tony!" Jack yelled after him.

"Just because you sacrificed your wife for the job doesn't mean I'm gonna sacrifice mine!" Tony yelled back.

"Tony!" Jack yelled angry. No one brought up Teri.

Tony climbed into the car as the phone began to ring again.

He got out and ran towards the phone.

"I'll let that go, but you do something like that again and your wife will be harmed, understood?" Saunders said the minute Tony picked up.

"Yeah." He replied.

"Under the Sixth Street Bridge. Thirty minutes. I see anyone else, your wife dies. I don't see Jane, your wife dies." He said before hanging up.

Jack quickly called Chase and then they were on their way.

…..

"No! No!" Michelle yelled as she crouched beside the wall.

"Shut up!" One of Saunders' men yelled as he opened the door.

Michelle ran towards the door, the bottom half of her face covered in blood.

"I've been infected! Help me please!" She pleaded.

He quickly shut the door, but before he did she was able to stop it.

She saw him call Saunders on the radio and that's when she made her move. She quickly hit him over the head with a brick and grabbed his gun and phone. She wiped the blood off of her face as she began to make her escape.

She ran for a while, trying to hide and get a cell phone signal.

She finally got one outside and quickly called CTU.

Meanwhile, Jack's phone began to ring.

"Dad, I have Michelle on the line." Kim said.

"Okay, put her through." Jack said as he put the phone of speakerphone.

Seconds later Michelle's voice came through the phone. "I escaped, but Saunder's men are still chasing me."

"Michelle, it's me. Where are you?"

"Corner of Wilshire and… Uh… Branton." She said looking as she ran towards the gate.

"Chase, send teams there right away." Tony said.

"No, Chase, don't." Jack said quickly. "Michelle, I need you to let yourself get caught."

"What?" She and Tony said at the same time.

"This is the only way we can get to Saunders." Jack explained.

"Send those tactical teams now!" Tony ordered.

"Disregard those orders." Jack quickly said as two agents took Tony from behind.

"You son of a bitch, Jack! That's my wife!" Tony yelled as the agents led him away. "I swear if anything happens to her, I'll kill you!" He continued to shout, but he could no longer be heard.

"Michelle, I promise we will do everything we can for you." Jack said.

"Okay." Michelle said before hanging up.

She was so close. Her hand was on the gate and she could feel the cars rushing by.

She placed a hand to her stomach before throwing the gun in the bushes and heading back for Saunders men to find her.

….

Tony stood by the van waiting for Saunders. He knew that Jack had said that he would do everything for Michelle, but he knew that to CTU Michelle was expendable. He could barely breathe as the cars began to drive up.

One of Saunders' men got out of the lead car. "Let us see Jane." He yelled to Tony.

"Let me see my wife!" He yelled back.

"When we see Jane, we will give you your wife." The man yelled back.

Tony took Jane out of the car. The man took Michelle out of the other car. Jane began to walk towards Saunders and Michelle began to walk to him. She was shaking and covered in sweat, but otherwise looked fine. He held out his hand which caused her to smile.

She was nearly to him when he saw Jane turn around. It all happened to fast. Saunders got out of the car and when CTU had confirmation they moved in. Saunders' men began to fire and he was able to get Michelle behind him seconds before a bullet was fired that could have killed her if he hadn't moved her.

Several minutes later the gunfire had stopped and they sank to the pavement in each other's arms.

"Did they do anything to you?" Tony asked as he cupped her face which was now covered in tears.

She shook her head and he held her even more tightly.

…

About an hour later Tony had been taken into a holding room and was horrified to learn that he was going to be arrested and sent to a federal prison.

"Come on, Brad!" Tony yelled at Brad Hammond, who had just informed him. "I did everything to save my wife. Jack did the exact same thing and he got a pat on the back, not a jail sentence! If I hadn't then you never would've gotten Saunders and secured the vials! Don't make an example out of me!" He yelled.

"You committed treason, Tony. It was your fault we were unable to get to Saunders without the trade I the first place." Brad said calmly.

"Dammit, Brad! The man had my wife for God's sake. No one died or got hurt as a result of what I did! I'm not a terrorist, so why the hell are you treating me like one?"

"You helped him escape. You assaulted a security guard. You stole a federal witness. Yes, we were able to get Saunders, but what if we hadn't? All those lives would've been on YOUR head Tony."

"But you did get Saunders. I got shot today. I thought I was going to lose my wife, and then after I discovered she was okay, she got kidnapped. Yes, I put her above the country and I'd do it again. Can't you please just let this go? You know I would never do this unless Michelle was on the line and I understand that you're probably mad at me about the mission in Mexico, but I wasn't the only one involved. Please don't do this to me. Please don't do this to Michelle."

Brad looked at Tony. He had never seen the man beg before. "I'm sorry, Tony." He said before leaving.

…

Michelle entered Brad's office. "The guard isn't letting me see Tony." She said walking in.

"I know. I gave the orders."

"What? Why? It isn't like he's a criminal. He did what he did to protect me."

"He agreed to put this country ahead of everything, even you, and he betrayed the country when he let Saunders escape."

"What are you talking about?" Michelle asked confused.

"We had Saunders several hours before the trade. But Tony helped him escape."

"He did it to save me. And to save our child. I'm pregnant, Brad. Please don't do this." She said shakily.

"He could've killed thousands of people. And frankly, if you would've done the same thing, you should just hand me your resignation." He said glancing up at her.

Michelle turned and stormed out of his office. Normally, she would have handed him the resignation, but she had to think of this baby, she had to be able to take care of it. She was able to stay strong and tough looking while she walked towards the exit. Inside, she was falling apart. She couldn't breathe, her knees were turning to jelly and a million thoughts were surging through her brain. She quickly ran to the edge of the parking lot and threw up the contents of her seemingly empty stomach, before calmly walking towards her car, grabbing a bottle of water and walking back into CTU.

….

A couple of hours later after they had located all but the last vial, Michelle was able to convince Brad to let Tony run tactical for the mission.

"Chloe, I need you to send everything on your screen to station 11."

"Why?" Chloe asked as she began to do it.

"Tony's handling tactical for this and he needs to get caught up." As soon as Michelle said the word Tony, Chloe's fingers froze.

"I'm sorry, you'll have to find someone else." Chloe said beginning to get up.

"What are you talking about?" Michelle asked.

"Tony locked me in one of the server rooms and used me to try and work around CTU. You might think he did the right thing, but I know that he didn't." She said standing up.

"Chloe, I am sick and tired of all your shit! We both know that Jack has done what Tony did multiple times, but you don't hate him. God, you practically worship him. Tony did what he had to do. He did exactly what I would've done, what Jack would've done. What probably everybody but YOU would've done. Tony is the love of my life and the father of my child and I know, without a shred of doubt, that he did the right thing!" Michelle replied furiously raising her voice.

Chloe stood blinking and mumbling, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Go away. Now." Michelle said angrily.

Chloe looked around for someone with higher authority and when she found no one, quickly ran off.

"Kim, can you send everything on Chloe's screen to station 11." Michelle said.

Kim quickly came over and began working.

When she was finished, she turned to Michelle. "I would've done what Tony did. We all want to believe that we can put the love of our life above everything else, but there are only a brave few who can actually do it. Tony is one of them. And if you need anything, remember that my dad and I are always there." She said smiling before walking off.

….

Michelle stood in one of the server rooms feeling empty. The rush of working with Tony, of knowing what he was going to say before he said it was gone. The minute they recovered the last vial, Tony had been taken back into custody. It felt unreal. Just that morning he had held her and made her laugh and now he would go to jail. She was exhausted, but she didn't want to sleep. She couldn't bear the thought of not waking up in his arms. She was wearing his CTU jacket which smelled like him, but it wouldn't be enough.

She heard the door open and saw Tony walk in with another agent.

"Can you give us a minute?" Tony asked the other agent.

After the other agent he took Michelle in his arms.

"I'm so sorry." She said softly.

He pulled away and looked into her eyes. "Baby, you're alive and no one else got hurt because of what I did. That's better than I could've ever imagined. I can live with that, even in jail." He said kissing her forehead.

"Okay." She said softly.

"Michelle, you have to promise me that you'll take care of yourself. You can't just mope around and be sad. You deserve better than that. This baby deserves better than that. I know that I'll be in jail, but remember what we said?"

"I'll love you every second of every day until the end of time." They both said softly at the same time. It had been a wedding vow that they had both written without even knowing it.

"I don't know how to live without you." Michelle said. She felt like crying, but she had no tears left.

"I don't either. But we'll figure it out." He promised.

He pulled her into a deep kiss. They both savored it, trying to lock in all memories.

They were suddenly interrupted when the other agent walked back into the room. "Time to go." He said looking at them.

"I love you." Tony said placing a hand on Michelle's face and his other on her stomach.

She closed her eyes and felt his warm familiar touch begin to fade away. She heard the door close and slowly opened her eyes. He was gone. She placed her hands where his had been mere seconds before.

"I will love you every second of every day until the end of time." She said softly as she stared at the door where he had just exited.

…..

Okay… Wow, that took forever to write! Don't know when the next chapter will be up, but reviews make me write faster!


	2. Day 4

Thanks to , molly1006, love is only a dream, and Francis 24crazy for the great reviews.

So this Day 4 is different. They never got divorced, Tony still got out after seven months, they are happy as ever. Michelle still works for Division and Tony, after several months of not being able to find a job, decided to be a stay at home dad for a while.

I don't own anything.

….

"Tony…" Michelle whispered in Tony's ear.

"Hey, you." He said smiling at her.

She kissed him and then walked away and began to put her earrings in.

"Why can't you go to work like you used to? You look so divisiony." He said sitting up.

"Because I WORK at Division." She said laughing.

"All right. But keep your curls at home." He said standing up and kissing her.

"Tony." She whispered.

"What?" He whispered back.

"Can you make me some breakfast?"

"Sweetheart, we have cereal. You can't mess up cereal." He said laughing.

"I'm sick of cereal. Please." She said kissing him again.

"Fine. You're lucky I love you so much." He said laughing. "Go get Maddie up and I'll make you an omelet."

"I love you." She said giggling and kissing him before going to wake up their daughter Madison.

"Hey, baby girl." She said smiling as she walked into her daughter's room.

Her daughter was standing up in her crib clutching the railing, jabbering in her happy baby gibberish.

"Did you have a good sleep?" She asked picking her daughter up and walking towards her daughter's dresser.

She got Maddie dressed before walking towards the kitchen.

"Hey." Tony said smiling at her as she walked in.

"That smells great." She said smiling as she put Madison in her high chair then walked towards the pantry to get the box of Cheerios.

"Good." He said laughing as he cut it in half and put it on two plates. He put them on the table as Michelle put some Cheerios out on Madison's high chair tray.

"This is so good." Michelle said laughing as she shoved a bite in her mouth.

"That's how you know I made it." He said smirking.

"Funny. So what are you gonna do today?" She asked.

"Probably go to the grocery store and then finally put that swing set together." He said.

"Big day." Michelle said sarcastically before turning to their daughter. "Maddie, can Mommy have a Cheerio?"

Tony laughed watching as his eleven month old daughter put a Cheerio in her damp hand before showing it in Michelle's mouth.

"Thank you, Maddie." Michelle said laughing before getting up and sticking her plate in the dish washer.

She kissed the top of Madison's forehead then grabbed her purse.

"Okay, I should be home by six. Make sure that you watch Maddie at the store and outside."

"All right." Tony said smiling at his wife as he leaned against the counter.

Michelle kissed him goodbye before leaving.

"All right Maddie. Looks like we're gonna have a pretty slow day." Tony said smiling as he took his daughter out of her high chair.

…..

Several hours later he had just gotten back from the grocery store. Unsurprisingly, Michelle had called him. She called him every free second she had. They both loved their life now, but they still missed being at CTU together.

He had just gotten Maddie out of her car seat when his phone began to ring.

"Hello?" He answered. It still felt strange to not answer with "Almeida" anymore, but he was starting to get used to it.

"Tony, I need your help." He heard Jack say.

"What? I don't work for CTU anymore, Jack." He said as he walked towards the front door of his house.

"Tony, I don't know who else I can trust. Please." Jack said.

Tony contemplated it then decided. "Okay, I'll ask the neighbor to watch Maddie and I'll come. Just tell me the address." After Jack told him the address he quickly brought the groceries in and dropped Maddie off at the neighbor's house. It had occurred to him that he should call Michelle and tell her, but he had promised her that when he eventually went back to CTU, no field work and the minute she told him not to do it, he knew he'd turn around and he couldn't do that to Jack. He owed Jack his life. He and Kim had taken care of Michelle. They were there with Michelle when she went in to labor and he was stuck in jail. They were there when Maddie was born. They had been there for Michelle, when he couldn't be and then Jack helped him get out of jail. He owed it to Jack, no to both of them, to help Jack.

….

After Tony had gotten Jack and Audrey back to his house, he handed Jack the key's and quickly went to get Maddie.

When he entered the house they were sitting on the couch looking like they had just been through hell. Jack's face immediately lit up when Tony walked into the room with Madison.

"Can you hold her a sec? I need to go get her something to eat. It was her lunch time nearly two hours ago."

"Of course I can." Jack said smiling and taking her.

Audrey looked at him in disbelief. "You told me that Tony was an angry, bitter drunk."

"He was. When he first got out he drank. He was angry. He had been deemed a traitor by CTU and no one wanted to hire him. He had missed Maddie's birth. He felt lost, so he drowned himself in alcohol. At first, Michelle accepted it. He was her husband and had just been in jail because he put her life above everything else, but about two months after he got out she gave him an ultimatum. Either he'd stop the drinking or she'd leave him, take Maddie, and never look back. She called me in tears right after. She was so scared that she'd have to make good on her threat. I told her she didn't have to worry. He had nearly lost them once and he sure as hell wasn't going to again. And he did. He stopped the drinking and became Tony again." Jack said beginning to tickle Maddie.

Just then Tony walked back into the room with some food for Maddie. He picked her up and began to feed her.

For about half an hour they talked before Jack got a new lead.

He thanked Tony for helping them. As soon as they were about to leave, Tony ran back out of the house. "I'm coming with you, Jack."

"Tony, you don't need to." Jack said.

"I saved your life once, I'd like for you to not end up dead. I already called Maddie's sitter."

"I don't know…" Jack said warily.

"Jack, I'm the best back up you could have. I know you, I know all your moves. Let me help you." Tony said.

"Okay." Jack said.

….

Several hours later things had progressed and Tony was drawn into the CTU's investigation. He was currently temporary director of CTU when someone called Secretary Heller.

"Sir, Ms. Driscoll's replacement is here. She's clearing security right now."

"Thank you." Secretary Heller said before ending the call.

"Mr. Almeida, I appreciate the help and would like for you to stay and help Ms. Dessler with things." Heller said.

"Wait, I'm sorry. Did you say _Dessler_?"

"Yes, you know her?" Secretary Heller asked, clearly oblivious to the fact that Tony's wife, who he had promised no more field work, was about to walk towards him.

"I'm married to her." He said softly as she turned the corner and began to walk down what the two of them had jokingly named the red carpet and judging by the smile tugging at her lips, she was also thinking of that. He knew he would have to approach her, he knew she would be mad, but at least she was smiling right now.

He took a deep breath and walked towards her. He could see her smile fade to a look of confusion then to a look of anger.

"What are you doing here? You _promised_ me no more field work!" She hissed as she walked over.

"I'm sorry. Jack called and he needed my help."

"Did you think that something could have happened to you? That you could have died? Do you have any idea about the man we're after? He'd kill you without blinking an eye!"

"I'm sorry…" Tony said trailing off.

"Go home, Tony. Please." She said looking at him.

"I can't." He said looking her in the eyes.

He deep brown eyes glinted with anger and she stormed off towards the situation room.

"Damn it." He cursed under his breath as he watched her walk away.

…..

"Michelle." Tony said following her. It was nearly four o'clock in the morning. She had been avoiding him since she had gotten there and it was driving him crazy.

She continued walking.

"Michelle." He said grabbing her arm. She spun around and let a gasp out as she backed into the wall. "Sweetheart, I know you're mad. Please, just talk to me." He said desperately wanting to stroke her face.

"Seeing you here, it knocked the wind out of me. I didn't just make you promise to never do field work because it was dangerous and I was terrified that you would get hurt and I would lose you. I made you promise because I knew that you wouldn't want to work at CTU if you couldn't go in the field. I didn't want you to end up in the same situation as you did before, but now you're here and that scares the hell out of me." She said pushing away. Tony had no idea if he was forgiven, but knew better than to test Michelle when she was angry. It didn't happen often, but when it did it was bad. She hadn't talked to him for over a week when he had missed their anniversary because of work. And that wasn't even the worst case.

…..

"Michelle." Tony said walking into Michelle's office.

She looked up from the file she was reading.

He sat down next to her on the couch and took her hand in his. She stiffened and then relaxed.

"Michelle, we need to leave all of this. CTU, DOD, everything."

"What?" She asked looking up at him. "This is all I've ever done. All you've ever done. Is this about what I said before? I was just mad." Michelle said confused.

"No, I just…. Watching the toll that today has taken on Jack and Audrey's relationship, it just got me to thinking and I just remembered watching Jack's family fall apart and I don't want that to happen to us."

"I…" Michelle said bewildered.

"Just think about it." He said smiling at her and squeezing her hands before leaving.

She watched him as he walked away and she knew what she wanted to do. She needed a life with her husband and child, away from all of this.

…..

"Tony, wait!" Michelle said running down the hallway towards the exit after him.

"What's wrong?" He asked alarmed.

"I don't want to spend another day doing this job without you. I'm ready to leave all this behind and never look back." She said. She was going to say more but he kissed her.

"Almeida!" They heard a voice yell.

"Go." She said smiling. He kissed her again, this time, just a quick peck on the lips, and then began to leave.

"Be careful." She called after him.

He turned, flashed the grin that made her melt, and then kept walking.

As Michelle walked back she had no idea why she was so paranoid. Tony would be fine, so why couldn't she get rid of the sinking feeling that things were going to go horribly wrong.

…

"Tony, do you copy? Tony, do you copy?" Michelle listened in horror as Jack's voice floated over the comm.

Jack tried the agent who had been with Tony, but he didn't answer. As Jack ran to find them, the reality of the situation began to sink in.

Then she heard those words, "Castle's down. Almeida is missing possibly a hostage. Castle's down. Almeida's missing possibly a hostage. I repeat Castle's down. Almeida-" His voice was cut off when Michelle took her comm off. She knew Tony had been taken hostage as soon as he didn't copy, but hearing those words felt like someone was ripping her heart out of her chest. Suddenly she couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. She couldn't think straight. She had been avoiding him all day. She had just made amends because her stubborn temper refused to let her earlier. And now… Now…. She couldn't bear to think about it.

…..

"Are you alone?" A woman's voice said on Michelle's cell phone. She had been sitting in her office trying to convince herself that Tony would be okay.

"Who is this?" She asked.

"I'm sending you the answer."

Michelle's phone dinged and she looked to see a picture of Tony bound and gagged.

"Oh God." She murmured sitting in her chair.

"I've been reading up on you, Michelle. It seems that Tony put your life above the job. Now you are going to do the same."

"What are you talking about?" Michelle asked.

"You are going to move your men out of the North parking lot. If you don't, Tony dies. If you try and screw with me, Tony dies. Got it?"

"I…. Okay." Michelle said in disbelief.

"I'll be in touch." The woman said before hanging up.

Michelle got the schematics of where their men where and were looking over them when Bill walked in. She could barely hear him, but as he turned to walk away, she began to think about all the lives that putting Tony's life above the country would end. Maddie's life could be one of them. She desperately wanted to save him, but couldn't if it meant even a chance of their daughter dying. She didn't want that and she knew that he wouldn't either.

"I can't do this." She said so softly Bill could barely hear her.

"Can't do what?" He asked turning around.

"Sacrifice all those lives." She said softly before looking at him. "She called me."

"Who?" He asked.

"The hostile. She said I had to help her escape or Tony dies." She said, her voice breaking on dies.

He began to take out his phone. She knew what he was doing, but she wasn't paying attention. All she could think of was that she might have signed her husband's death warrant.

…..

"So, when I'm safely away, I'll call you and let you know where you can find Tony."

"Okay." Michelle said as she watched the feed on the screen.

They got into the car and Bill said, "Move now!" Jack tried to tell them to stop, but it was too late.

"You lied to me, you bitch. You are not going to take me alive. Got it?" The hostile said. Michelle turned just in time to see the car blow up.

"No! No!" She yelled falling to the floor. Bill held her up from behind as she looked at the screen. Then she heard Jack's voice. "She blew herself up in the car. She took Tony with her. They're gone."

"No!" She yelled again. Bill gently lead her up to her office and left her. The word's kept ringing in her ears. _She blew herself up in the car. She took Tony with her. They're gone._ Tony was gone. He was dead. Tony was dead.

She looked up when Bill sat down beside her. "I can't imagine how you're feeling right now. You're probably blaming yourself, but you did the right thing. Tony would be proud."

"I don't know how to live without him. I avoided him nearly all day and now he's gone and I just… And the worst thing about all this is that all though I'll at least have all the memories, but Maddie won't remember him."

"You need to go home." Bill said looking at her.

"Bill…" She said softly. She didn't want to leave. The minute she walked out of here all of this began ten times more real. She didn't want to live her life without him and when she left that was exactly what she'd be doing.

"It's not a request, it's an order. Go home be with your daughter." He said helping her shakily stand up.

She left her office and then began to leave. This time walking down the "red carpet" brought tears to her eyes.

She walked out to her car. She didn't care that it was raining or that she was getting soaked. Her life was gone. _He_ was gone.

She quickly unlocked her car and got in. She saw Tony's jacket strewn across the passenger seat. She picked it up and smelled it, breathing him in. She couldn't believe he was gone. She had just kissed him, agreed to leave all this and now, now…..

She put the jacket in her lap. She needed to drive. She needed to cry in peace.

After about ten minutes of driving she pulled into an empty parking lot. She turned off her car and began to sob. This wasn't fair. She couldn't shake the feeling that this was her fault. Because even though she knew she had done the right thing, she hadn't done what he had. And now she wished more than anything that she had.

She didn't know how long she sobbed as the rain beat down on her car before her phone began to ring.

She let it ring, but decided she might as well answer.

"Dessler." She whispered.

"Michelle, it's Bill."

"Can I call you back?" She said softly.

"No." He said. "Michelle, Tony's alive."

"What?" She said.

"I'll put him through." Bill said. Michelle couldn't believe it. Tony was alive. She was going to hear his voice again, feel his touch again, taste his lips again.

"Sweetheart, it's me." Tony said.

"Oh my God. Oh my God." She said as tears of relief began to fall down her face. "What happened?" she asked.

"I was never in the car. It was someone else." He said.

"I love you so much." She said.

"I love you too." He said.

"I couldn't have raised Maddie without you."

"You don't have to. You'll never have to." He said. "Sweetheart, I have to go. I'll see you soon."

"Okay." She said softly.

"Bye." He said before hanging up and just like that his voice was gone. And as Michelle began to drive back to CTU it felt as though her heart had been put back in her chest and had swollen ten sizes Tony was alive. They were going to leave all this with Maddie.

…..

Michelle stood going over a report with an agent. She wasn't really paying attention. She kept waiting for Tony to appear and then suddenly he appeared.

She told the agent they'd finish this later and then began to run towards him.

And then before she knew it she was in his arms, holding on as tight has she possibly could.

"I love you so much. I didn't realize just how much until I thought I lost you." She whispered in his ear.

"You didn't lose me. And because of what you did, we were able to stop this." He said smiling.

"But I didn't do what you did. I didn't put you above the job." She said tears forming.

"Michelle," He said, pulling back and looking her in the eyes, "I'm glad you didn't. If the bomb would have gotten here, it would not have only killed you, but Maddie and I was willing to die to keep the two of you safe. And all that matters now is that we're here and we have our future together waiting for us." Then he leaned in and kissed her.

When they pulled back they kept their arms wrapped around each other and Michelle just knew she was grinning like an idiot.

…..

Michelle sat in her office. She had finished all of the paperwork and had just signed her resignation. She was going to turn it in tomorrow, after things have calmed down.

She was still smiling.

Her phone began to ring.

"Dessler." She answered picking it up.

"Hey, it's me. I need your help." Tony said.

"What's wrong? What's going on?" She asked worriedly.

"I need you to help me fake Jack's death." He said.

"What?" She asked.

"The man from the Secret Service, he was sent to kill Jack."

"What?" She asked again as she walked to the glass wall and looked down at the man. She had to admit, he looked kind of scary.

"I'll tell you more later. I need you to get some epinephrine from CTU medical and also inform Chloe."

"Chloe?" She asked confused.

"We're going to have to make this appear spotless and Chloe is the best person for the job and Jack trusts her."

"Okay, who knows?" She asked walking towards the door.

"Just me, you, Jack, Chloe, and President Palmer."

"President Palmer?" She asked confused.

"He's the one who let Jack know about the order. Listen, I'm going to pull the alarm in five minutes, do you think you can inform Chloe and get the epinephrine by then?"

"Yeah." She replied.

"Okay, I have to go." He said hanging p.

She quickly left her office and grabbed Chloe before running down to CTU medical.

As they made their way back towards the floor they heard the alarm go off. They both knew what it meant.

They ran into CTU.

"What's going on?" Michelle asked meeting Tony's gaze.

"Jack escaped. He came up behind me and the next thing I knew I was on the floor and he was gone." Tony said.

"Have you blocked off all the exits?" She asked knowing that the question was unnecessary, Jack wasn't trying to leave.

Suddenly the Secret Service agent pointed at the screen which had feeds from all of the security cameras on them. "There. That looks like him." He said beginning to walk off.

"Wait, I'm coming with you." Tony said.

"No, you're not." He replied walking out.

Bill stopped him. "Either Tony goes or you don't go."

"Fine." He said walking off with Tony following him.

"Be careful." Michelle called out behind him. She knew that if the Secret Service agent found out what they were doing, Tony would be a dead man.

…

Michelle, with Bill and Chloe, ran into the room. They had just heard shots. She was so worried that Tony had ended up shot, but when she heard him yelling, a part of the plan, she knew he was okay.

"Jack." She said sitting down beside him.

"Oh, Jack." She heard Chloe say from behind her.

Bill and the Secret Service agent left and as soon as they heard the door slam, Tony quickly said, "Get me the epinephrine."

Michelle quickly pulled it out of the back of her skirt and handed it to him

Tony injected Jack and when they got no movement, Tony began to perform CPR.

"Come on, Jack." Tony said frustrated.

"Tony." Michelle said softly as she placed a hand on his arm.

He turned to look at her as Jack began to cough and sputter.

"Don't scare me like that." He chuckled as he looked at his friend.

Later the two watched Jack and Chloe say goodbye before they snuck him out of CTU.

"Okay, we're good." Tony said as they drove out of the CTU parking lot.

Jack got off of the floor in the backseat and took off the blanket that was covering him.

He sat up on the seat next to Maddie's car seat.

"Make sure to take care of Kim for me." He said breaking the silence as they pulled into an empty lot.

"We will." Michelle and Tony said at the same time.

"Thank you." He said simply.

He gently put his hand on Michelle's shoulder and looked at both of them before he got out of the car. They watched him walk towards a fence before Tony began to pull out.

"So, time to go home." Michelle said smiling at him.

"Time to go home." He said smiling back at her.

They went home and just played with Maddie. They were just a family. Just them. Because they would never forget how close they were to it all crashing down.

Later that evening after eating a meal of takeout, Tony looked over at Michelle. She was sitting on the couch with Maddie asleep in her lap.

Tony leaned over and gently picked Maddie up and brought her to her room. When he came back Michelle was on the couch crying.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked lying down on the couch and pulling her down beside him.

"I lost you today. For about fifteen minutes you were dead. I was a widow and Maddie didn't have a father and I just I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. I was planning on killing myself. I love Maddie I do and I wanted to be with her, but I just couldn't think of living without you. I can't even explain the feeling; it was just the worst thing that had ever happened to me."

"I know. I'm sorry you had to go through that, but I can promise you that you will never have to go through that again." He said kissing her.

He held her close as her sobs shook her body.

He cleared his throat and began to softly sing. It was a song from the TV show Full House and he always sung it when Michelle was sad. It always made her feel better.

"_Michelle's at home,_

_The cats are purring,_

_She doesn't know what worry is._

_She's safe and warm and she's not sorry,_

_She doesn't know what sorry is._

_Michelle's smiling,_

_Michelle's smiling,_

_Michelle's smiling._

_The news is on and Michelle's laughing,_

_Can't make sense of what the pictures show._

_She knows no fear she keeps on laughing,_

_If we could only know what Michelle knows_

_Michelle's smiling,_

_Michelle's smiling,_

_Michelle's smiling."_

After Tony finished he kissed her forehead and wiped away her tears. The sobs were gone and were replaced by a soft grin.

"I will love you every second of every day until the end of time." Michelle said softly before drifting to sleep.

Tony carried her to their bed and climbed in beside her. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered, "I will love you every second of every day until the end of time."


	3. Day 5

Thanks to for the great review.

So sorry about the super late update, but school started again and I'm super busy. Anyway, the beginning is the same as in the series, but don't worry it has a different outcome.

I don't own anything.

….

"Michelle, Bill will call if he needs us." Tony said watching as his wife angrily punched the call end button and began to redial.

"No, he won't." She said with a laugh. When they had left CTU a year and a half ago, they had made it clear that they were never going to look back.

"Mommy, how comes that man's picture is on the TV?" Their two year old, almost three year old, as she liked to point out despite the fact that she wasn't even two and a half yet, asked looking up from her coloring book.

"Well, sweetie." Michelle said thinking of a way to explain David Palmer's assassination to Maddie. "He used to be the president, you know who that is, and he went on a long trip and he's never going to come back."

"Like Uncle Jack?" Maddie asked.

"Just like Uncle Jack." Michelle said. Maddie had surprisingly remembered Jack, so they had to pretend he really died.

"Okay." She said happily before returning to coloring.

Tony watched as she pressed the crayon against the paper, a look of determination spread across her small face. The same look of determination that was now turning his knees to jelly.

"Michelle, CTU has plenty of agents. They can handle it."

"No one who has the experience that we do. You were at CTU during all of the attempts on his life; I was there for most of them. Jack's gone. There's no one else." She said.

"Michelle, that isn't our life anymore." He said glancing down at her swollen stomach.

"Tony, it was our life for twelve years. We can never just leave it all behind. We owe this to David Palmer. He got you out of jail. If it hadn't been for him, you'd still be there. I'd still wake up every morning alone, wishing more than anything that you were right beside me. You might be able to walk away, but I can't." She said before walking over and kissing their daughter good bye.

"Michelle, please don't do this." He said following her. He grabbed her arm as she grabbed her jacket from beside the door.

"I'll call you when I get to CTU." She said softly before lightly kissing him and walking out the door.

He watched the door close behind her before dialing the phone.

"Hey. It's Tony. Michelle won't be able to make it to the meeting." He said before pausing to think. "Actually I'm going with her." He said as he walked to the front door.

He was about to open the door when an explosion knocked him to the ground.

"Daddy!" Maddie yelled running in from the kitchen.

He quickly got up and began to head outside to find Michelle.

Maddie followed him.

"Maddie! Stay in the house!" He yelled turning around.

She refused to move.

"Madison Ella Almeida! Go back to the kitchen right now!" He yelled before sprinting off towards the car, which was now in flames.

A piece of falling debris hit him in the head. It hurt like hell, but he didn't care. He had to find his wife.

"Michelle!" He yelled as he ran over to her limp form.

"Sweetheart, you're going to be okay." He said scooping her up and running towards the house. Just as he made it back into the kitchen the gas tank exploded.

He quickly shoved everything off of the kitchen table and gently laid Michelle down. He found a faint pulse.

"Maddie, bring the phone!" He said as he began CPR, desperately trying to bring Michelle back to consciousness.

His daughter handed it to him with a shaking hand and he dialed a number that over the past year and a half had become as familiar to him as his own address. He needed help fast, faster than a 911 dispatcher could get him.

"CTU, O'Brian." Chloe answered.

"Chloe, I need help." He said beginning to feel dizzy.

"What happened?" She asked worriedly.

"Michelle's car. Blew up. Unconscious." He said. His thoughts were running through his head in fragments. In that moment he would have given anything to be on that table.

"Help is on the way. ETA five minutes." Chloe said after he heard her yell something. Her words swam around in his head and he could barely hear them.

He looked at Michelle's limp body and wondered what had happened between the day when CTU blew up and they first kissed and now, in more danger than they had ever been at CTU.

He could feel himself falling, falling and then everything went black.

….

"Shit." Tony muttered as his as he begun to get up.

He then realized that Maddie was curled up asleep on his chest and laid back down.

He frantically looked around for Michelle and didn't see her. He then gently picked Maddie up, got up, and then laid her back down on the bed by herself before he walked off towards the CTU Medical OR.

He looked through the window and what he saw broke his heart more than it already was.

Michelle, his Michelle, was hooked up to countless machines and doctors were currently cutting into every part of her body.

He felt himself go weak at the knees as he pressed his hand against the glass.

"Michelle." He whispered as he felt tears rush to his eyes.

"Tony." Bill said stepping behind him. "You really should lie down. You suffered a pretty bad concussion." He said placing a hand on Tony's arm.

"I'm fine." He said pulling away.

"Tony…" Bill said.

"She could die on me." Tony said staring into the OR. "And the last thing we ever did was argue. And I just want to take it all back, to turn back time. We left CTU, we got away, we were happy. What happened?" He said sitting down on a chair in the hallway.

"Tony." Bill said sitting next to him. "I know this might be difficult to hear, but you deserve to know. We think that Jack's behind this. We know that you, Michelle, Chloe, and David Palmer helped fake his death."

"What? That's ridiculous! We saved his life! He'd never do something like that!" He said standing up.

"I know, but until a few hours ago, you, Michelle, President Palmer, and Chloe were the only people who knew that Jack was still alive and Palmer was killed and you and Michelle and Chloe were targeted. Jack was seen at Palmer's assassination. I know you don't want to believe it, but all evidence points to Jack."

"No, Jack wouldn't do that." Tony insisted. Before Bill could reply the doctor came towards them.

"How is she?" Tony asked anxiously.

"She had some pretty major internal bleeding, as well as several broken ribs, a broken collarbone, and a broken arm. We were able to stop the bleeding, but we weren't able to save the pregnancy. I'm sorry."

"Oh God…" Tony said sitting down. He hadn't even thought of his son since before Michelle left that morning and this knocked the wind out of him. "But she'll be okay, right?" Tony asked slowly.

"It depends on the next 24 hours, but so far I'd say that the prognosis looks good." He said. "You should be able to see her in about half an hour." The doctor said smiling at him.

Tony sighed and leaned back. They had lost their son. But Michelle was okay and he was ecstatic about that. They could make another baby, but he couldn't make another Michelle. She was his beautiful perfect angel, perfectly sculpted to be his forever.

…

"Michelle." Tony said sitting beside his wife. She still hadn't woken up. The doctor said it could take a while. "I love you so much. Do remember when CTU got bombed so long ago? That day that George Mason died and we kissed and really started this? I never told you this, but right after CTU got bombed I thought you were dead. When the bomb went off I was running towards you desperately wanting to shield you with my body, but instead I watched you squat with your tiny hands covering your beautiful head. When I got up from the rubble the first thing I did was look for you, but I couldn't find you. It wasn't until you told me later that you had been looking for me, that I realized that thinking I lost you before even getting a chance to love you was the worst thing that had ever happened to me. And this, this is bad, but we'll survive this." He said gently kissing her pale face. He then gently ran his fingers over her cast, her collarbone, her ribs, and finally her stomach. He felt his hand rest against her flat stomach instead of the swell he had been used to.

He had been watching the rise and fall of his sleeping daughter's chest on the bed beside Michelle's when he heard Michelle soft voice say, "I lost the baby."

He turned around. "Sweetheart, you're awake." He said in disbelief as he quickly took his hand off of her stomach.

She slowly moved her own hand and placed it on her stomach. "It's weird." She said softly trying to giggle. "This morning I was pregnant and now I'm not. Now I'm not." She said beginning to sob.

"Hey. It's okay." Tony said standing up. He gently climbed into bed beside her and wrapped his arms around her carefully avoiding her wounds.

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." She continued to sob.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." He said cupping her face in her hands. "It happened. It was out of our control. They'll catch the son of a bitch that did this." He said, not wanting to mention that everyone at CTU thought that Jack was that son of a bitch.

"Okay." She said looking at him. "Where's Maddie?" She asked anxiously. "She wasn't hurt was she?"

'She's right here." Tony said getting up and gently shaking Maddie awake.

"Hi Daddy!" Maddie said cheerfully.

Tony picked her up and put her on the bed beside Michelle.

"Mommy gots a boo boo?" Maddie asked with wide eyes.

"Mommy gots a boo boo." Michelle answered discreetly wiping her tears away.

"I kiss it better." Maddie said kissing Michelle's cast, her collarbones, her ribs, her stomach and lastly her cheek.

"All better?" Maddie asked smiling up at Michelle.

"All better." Michelle said smiling at her daughter and pulling her close.

Tony watched Michelle. She was trying to put on a brave front for their daughter, but he knew her better than that. He knew that inside she was breaking into a million pieces.

He sat back down, pulled Michelle close, and began to stroke her hair and whisper in her ear. For now it was all he could do to comfort her.

…..

Throughout the day, they stayed in CTU Medical holding each other close and watching as the day's events unfolded around them.

Now it was over 24 hours since that car bomb had gone off.

Tony hadn't been able to sleep. He had lay with Michelle in his arms, watching Maddie sleep on the bed beside them since midnight.

Michelle sleepily woke up, the sedative the doctor had given her to make her sleep had finally worn off.

"Hey." She said softly.

"Hi." He said smiling at her.

"What are we going to do about Maddie? She was so excited about being a big sister." Michelle said looking over at Maddie.

"We'll get a dog. She won't know the difference." Tony said laughing.

"You're awful!" She said laughing, but soon her laughter turned to tears. "It's just not fair." She said.

"I know. But things will be okay." He said kissing the top of her head.

"How can you say that? Our baby is dead! And why? Because we saved Jack's life? Because we did the right thing?"

"I know. But we've been through bad things before and as impossible as it seems right now, we can get through this and we'll be able to have more kids and not feel heartbreak about the son we never got to know."

"I know we will." She said kissing him on the lips for the first time since that morning.

They were interrupted by the sound of Bill clearing his throat.

"How are you doing?" He asked as he sat down on the edge of Michelle's bed.

"Better. It's just so much to take in." Michelle said.

"I know." Bill said. "We found out who was behind everything. The nerve gas, Palmer's assassination, the attempt on your life, everything."

"Who?" Tony asked.

"Charles Logan." Bill said slowly.

"The President?" Tony asked.

"Well, not anymore, but yes, the President." He said. "There is another thing."

"What?' Michelle asked.

"The Chinese kidnapped Jack."

"What?" They both said.

"Someone said he had to get a phone call from Kim. He went to get it and never came back. We're trying everything, but Audrey said he was gone half an hour before she went to find him."

"Oh God." Michelle said. "You have to get him back."

"We'll try everything we can." Bill said before leaving.

"We'll be okay." Michelle said softly. "I mean, we lost the baby, but we have each other and we have Maddie. And we can have more kids. But Jack has no one. He did the right thing and now he's going to be tortured and probably never see his daughter again. We'll be okay." She repeated.

"Wanna go find something to eat?" Tony asked her.

"That'd be good." She said smiling.

"And sweetheart?" he said before getting up. "I will love you every second of every day until the end of time." The minute he started to say it, she started to say it with him.


End file.
